Bette Soldwedel Research Initiative

Who is Bette Soldewedel?

Bette Soldwedel, long-time UNF educator and founding mother of the UNF Women’s Center, left a legacy that will continue the spirit of her work. She generously remembered the UNF Women’s Center through her estate when she passed away in 1997. Soldwedel’s interest in gender equity began when she helped design and create the Job Corps program in the early 1960s under President Lyndon Johnson. She came to UNF in 1973 as chair of the Counselor Education Department and a professor in the College of Education, and in 1979 was selected by her colleagues as the University’s first Distinguished Professor.

She was a board member of the National Association of Women in Education and was also active on the regional level. To honor her at their opening reception, the Florida Association for Women in Education presented a plaque that holds the grant recipients names.

Bette Soldwedel Research Initiative Stipend Available

The Bette Soldwedel Research Initiative offers stipends of $500 (pre-tax) to UNF women and men who are engaged in research projects that focus on matters of gender, and to women who are engaged in any kind of academic research. Upon completion of the project, recipients must provide a copy of the research and hold a presentation at a program sponsored by the Soldwedel Initiative.

The following documentation is required for stipend applications:

Application form

Statement of purpose (describing the project and the significance or relevance of the research)

Presentations/Forums

The BSRI also sponsors research presentations by UNF faculty, students and staff. The topic must focus on an aspect of women’s or gender studies (including men’s studies, queer studies, etc.) The presentations may be “works in progress,” or discussions of articles, books or projects.